. >> sean: the first presidential debate is on wednesday. the administration has been spending most of their weekend trying to lower expectations for the great orator obama, even the president saying, well, romney's good, i'm just okay. does that work if you're a sitting president? >> look, incumbent presidents who lose debates are in big trouble. this is a president who has the begins of a new recession, that with all the economic reports wednesday, thursday, friday are pointing to a in recession. the philadelphia federal reserve is pointing to a new recession. the manufacturing index dropped to the january 2009 -- all this is happening right now. this is a president whose foreign policy is collapsing around us. you can see it almost every day now on television. if romney is firm and direct and clear, i think that obama has a very real likelihood of coming out of this debate with people finally late on wednesday evening understanding how big the decision is and how big the choice is, and at that point we'll be in a totally new election. >>